As a personal challenge to myself, I decided to see if another route to the shelter in Dawson, Iowa, would have been a better selection. In some ways it was better, but in other ways, no. It all depends on the railroads. I don't know if they are still active tracks or not. At least 1/2 the route has some tracks either parallel to or near the route of travel. If the tracks are no longer used, then this would be a better route. The hardest part of the route is still getting out from inside the I-35 Loop.

INTERNET INFO:
Des Moines, Iowa: Elevation 864 feet
Capitol City of Iowa. City population near 200,000, and the metropolitan area population of 500,000. Home to the Blank Park Zoo. Electrical power supplied by MidAmerican Energy Company, who has recently started using Wind Power to generate electricity.

The Iowa State Fair attracts over a million people every year. In 2003, Des Moines only had 8 murders, 92 rapes, 284 robberies, 315 assaults, 1,527 burglaries, and 896 stolen cars.

The average high temperature in the summer is 75 degrees, and 20 degrees in the winter. The rainy season is April to August, with rainfall between 4” to 5”. The humidity all year long is around 60 to 80%. Snow season is October to April, with average accumulations of 8 to 10-1/2 inches. There are 5 major shopping malls.